I visited Evesham Wood back in December during our trip to Willamette Valley. To be honest I didn’t take such great notes, as our visit there was at the end of a long day of tasting (soon after nearly 3 hours with Seth Long), and Cuvee J wasn’t in the lineup of wines we tried. We ordered a mixed case that arrived soon after our visit. For fun tonight I decided to open the 2019 Le Puits Sec side-by-side with 2019 Cuvée J.
Pretty nose of predominantly black cherry, petrichor, and baking spices. With some air there are aromas of cranberry and deep red/purple floral tones (darker than what I typically think of with potpourri) that can be coaxed from the glass. On the palate the wine is bright and focused on the palate, with supple tannins and fresh acidity. There is a great concentration of flavors, though not feeling particularly heavy on the palate, of black cherry, blackberry, organic earth, mocha, and a little green bell pepper note on the finish. Very enjoyable wine, certainly has the structure for aging and evolving with some time in the cellar. (92 pts.)
Opened this side-by-side with the 2019 Le Puits Sec. Like that bottling, this has a nose of dusty/dark black fruit (blackberry, black cherry), but a little more prominent black pepper and spice compared to florals in terms of non-fruit aromas. On the palate the wine is deep, brooding, and a little more round and fuller in body than Le Puits Sec. There are fine yet grippy tannins complemented by fresh acidity to provide some brightness on the palate. There is not as much complexity of flavors at the moment, likely hidden by the more prominent oak in its youth than the Le Puits Sec, limited to blackberry, dried herbs, black pepper, and petrichor. Certainly needs some time to unfurl, but should be an impressive wine if given enough time (93 pts.)
Brian I got the 17 for under $30 and bought one bottle and reviewed it and sold out right away before I could get my hands on more the next day! Always wait on reviews in your market before you get yours’s! Great wine.
We tasted a few reds there back in June. I don’t recall what we had, but they were really good. While Evesham Wood and Haden Fig use different vineyard sources and slightly different wine making techniques, I consider them to be of equally high quality.